Every book on the shelf has a post-it attached, where Ha has written her one-sentence review of the book. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Materials considered to be “typically Korean” have earned that description because of their distinct design aesthetic. Traditional beauty, long seen as something only older generations enjoyed, has recently become sophisticated and elegant in the eyes of young people. Hip stores located in hanok (Korean traditional houses) are popping up around Seoul, and JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of Korea JoongAng Daily, visited some to see how they have reinterpreted traditional objects.

havebeenseoul : Traditional Korean goods are interpreted in modern ways

In the center of Gangnam, southern Seoul, sits a select shop filled with goods that are inspired and made by old-school materials such as hanji (Korean traditional handmade paper), jagae (the craft of inlaying mother-of-pearl) and sambe (hemp clothing).

Opened in November, havebeenseoul both exhibits and sells the work of artists who have interpreted the identity of Korea in modern ways. The shop offers some 100 pieces from both early-career artists and master artisans certified to craft items such as traditional folding fans or sedge works.

The building that houses the shop used to be a home. The owner of the shop chose not to renovate the house, so the structure of the living room and the dining room still remain.

As the space has not been reformatted to fit the goods the store sells, it perfectly highlights the concept of the store: to blend traditional items into people’s daily lives. Visitors can plainly see that the traditional goods naturally blend in with the modern and simple space of a house in the 21st century.

In the living room are a short-legged sofa and a table of the same height. On top of the table is a knife made of earthenware, a fountain pen with an inkwell and a handsome bookend.

A jagae-box, which is made out of special ingredients and requires a complicated production process, costs more than 2 million won ($1,882).

Nam Yeon-jung, the chief purchase officer, said, “People that are tired of similar kind of designs from abroad have been turning their eyes to the Korean styles. An ultra-niche market has been formed centering on those customers that are keen to find what they wish to buy.”

A hanok (Korean traditional house) cafe that opened last year in Naeja-dong, central Seoul, sells shoes and sunglasses in addition to various types of coffee. TOMS Roasting Co. is a cafe run by the American shoe brand TOMS.

Located on the road that leads to the Sajik Tunnel, the exterior of the cafe looks like a hanok with an exquisite roof laced with tiles.

When asked why the cafe was located in a hanok in the Seochon neighborhood, a staff member at the cafe said, “Because the brand is headquartered in California, which is considered to be the state with the most freedom in America, we thought that it [would be interesting to juxtapose that with] traditional Korean style. So we deliberately settled here to emphasize the contrast.”

The wooden pillars and the rafters of the roof catch the eyes of visitors as the qualities of the old hanok have been preserved quite well. An air conditioner was even installed behind a fake wall in order to not disturb the old-school atmosphere.

TOMS only sells fair-trade coffee, and has five types of coffee beans: Carpe Diem Seoul and Summit Coffee for espresso, and single-origin coffee from Columbia, Peru and Ethiopia.

The shoe brand is known for its “One For One” ethos, and it provides a pair of shoes for a child in need whenever a pair is purchased.

Similarly, whenever a cup of coffee or tea is bought at TOMS Roasting Co., the company provides a day’s worth of clean water to someone in need.

Seochon It Books : Reading books in a hanok bookstore

On the corner of the residential area in Seochon, central Seoul, a bookstore inside a hanok (Korean traditional house) opened last summer. Although there isn’t an eye-catching signboard outside, one can see the bookshelves through the glass.

Book curator Ha Young-nam, who runs Seochon It Books, has been leading a reading class with other bookworms for the past 20 years.

However, in July 2016, she suddenly quit all of her book gatherings. “Because I’ve been moving around here and there, I wanted to have my own space. So I decided to open a book store where I can sell books and open gatherings without having to have to move around,” said Ha.

She said, “[Koreans] instinctively follow the beauty of our country. I wanted to share books that I love and read in a place where [Koreans] feel safe and comfortable inside.”

The interior of the hanok retains many traditional qualities and its original girders and rafters remain in the building’s ceiling. The entrance has been replaced with transparent glass so that the passersby can see the bookshelves from outside.

The books that Ha carefully selects attract people passing. Most of the books are written by Korean authors because she “wants to empower authors that write good stories.”